H-E-R-O: Dial H for Hero by Will Pfeifer and Kano
Requirements: CBR Reader, 135 MB.
Overview: A new storyline begins — and not everyone who gets the H-E-R-O device wants to be a hero! Gotham City native Tony Finch has another dream: to be the greatest super-villain of all time! He's made his plans. He's done his homework. And now, thanks to the device, he has the power. The question is: What's he going to do with it in a city defended by Batman and populated by a horde of other villains?

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H-E-R-O

Will Pfeifer writer
Dave Stewart colorist
John Van Fleet cover
Kano penciler, inker
Ken Lopez letterer
JD Mettler colorist
Stephen Wacker, Lysa Hawkins, Mike McAvennie, Peter Tomasi editor
Published by DC Comics, 2003-2005

- Powers and Abilities: Colleted H-E-R-O 01-04
- Meet Matt Allen: Colleted H-E-R-O 05
- Girl Power: Colleted H-E-R-O 06
- Don't Try This @Home: Colleted H-E-R-O 07-08
- A World Made of Glass: Colleted H-E-R-O 09-10
- The Great Leap Forward: Colleted H-E-R-O 11
- Ch-Ch-Changes: Colleted H-E-R-O 12-14
- Whatever Happened to Robby Reed: Colleted H-E-R-O 15
- Goodguys and Badguys: Colleted H-E-R-O 16-18
- Pieces of Hate: Colleted H-E-R-O 19-22

Champagne Wishes, Caviar Dreams, Mud-pie Reality.Reviewed by Ryan Paul on 5 August 2003.

Reality TV. Turn on your television and pick a random channel, and the chances are fairly high that you’ll be watching some sort of reality television show. The Bachelor, Joe Millionaire, Anything for Love, American Idol and dozens more purport to give you a peek into the private lives of so-called “normal” people. The major networks are stumbling over themselves trying to come up with the next innovative idea, the next reality TV darling, the next salacious and sexy hit. It seems that nothing is out of bounds. Heck, there’s even a realty TV show based on the Cirque du Soleil.

With the ratings that reality TV shows generate, it was only a matter of time before other media started trying to get a little piece of the pie. That’s where DC Comics’ new series H-E-R-O by writer Will Pfiefer and artist Kano comes in.

Of course, technically, it isn’t “Reality TV” or “Reality Comics”. H-E-R-O takes the old Dial H for HERO concept and updates it for the 21st century. The premise is simple: The “HERO Device” has the power to turn its owner into one of any number of super-powered beings. Simply dial “H-E-R-O” and you could be able to fly like Superman, run as fast as The Flash, or have the strength of The Hulk.

Seems like a dream come true, right?

The first four issues follow Jerry, a 20-something slacker stuck in a dead-end job in the town of Heaton, PA, a run-down town built around a closed auto plant. The defining moment in Jerry’s life is his one brush with greatness, the day he saw Superman. But all it has done is to convince Jerry even more fully that he is, and always will be, a loser. If Superman is the ideal, then where does a lowly soda-jerk lie on the scale of greatness?

Sure, a comic book about superheroes is about as far from “real” as it gets, but Jerry’s situation is probably pretty familiar to a lot of readers. We’ve all got our idols, the great artists, athletes, musicians, and leaders that we look up to. What young, aspiring basketball player hasn’t once said to him- or herself, “I’m never going to be as good as MJ.” What artist hasn’t looked at a masterpiece of Picasso’s and said, “How will I ever manage to be as creative as him?” Sometimes great works and great people can truly inspire us, but sometimes they can make us feel truly low.

When Jerry finds the HERO Device, he figures it will finally be his chance to do something worthwhile with his life, but of course, things don’t go anything like he’d planned. The device took things from bad to much, much worse, and soon enough Jerry is in a phone booth calling a suicide hotline.

The HERO Device could have just as well been the lottery. They say that most people who win the lottery are worse off in a few years than before they won. The problem is that the lottery, or the Device, doesn’t fix your problems, it just makes them worse. As Stan Lee said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” If you aren’t OK with yourself, if you aren’t ready to handle the responsibility of power and money, then it’ll only hurt you.

And that’s where the reality TV comparison comes in. People today are obsessed with celebrities. Obsessed with stalking them, obsessed with knowing all their dirty little secrets, but most of all, obsessed with becoming one. As the tryouts for American Idol showed, people are willing to do anything for their 15 minutes. Why else would people subject themselves to the kind of public degradation and invasion of privacy that all these shows entail?

It seems our society, especially the younger generations, is suffering from a massive inferiority complex, and quick fame looks to many like the easy cure. But is it? Do you really think that Joe Millionaire is any happier today than he was before he was selected for that show? Sure, he got that money at the end, but as the lottery shows, that can be more trouble than it’s worth. Or what about the cast of Survivor? Or The Real World? Are any of them any better off because of that show? Not likely (except, of course, for Judd, who currently writes for DC Comics). “Fame” doesn’t make your life better. You have to do it yourself.

And that’s the lesson that Jerry learns. It’s no real spoiler to tell you that there’s a happy ending, but it comes after a fairly dark journey. Pfiefer and Kano have managed to tap into the very strong current of dissatisfaction that exists amongst the youth of today, and they’ve done so with a very simple base structure. H-E-R-O is, for all intents and purposes, just an elaboration on the old moral “Be careful what you wish for.” The question now becomes if and how Pfiefer and Kano can mine that theme for enough material for an ongoing monthly series.

No one knows at this point what the shelf-life of this series is, if it will be 15 minutes, or more. But that’s really up to the creators. They are the big stars now. We’ll have to wait and see if they can handle their fame and turn it into something real, or if they’ll just be forgotten once readers decide to change the channel.

Download Instructions:
H-E-R-O 01 -- http://novafile.com/ta54au5d6cwv
H-E-R-O 02 -- http://novafile.com/46e78qyptkfs
H-E-R-O 03 -- http://novafile.com/sudypdrmekam
H-E-R-O 04 -- http://novafile.com/sm0qi6v84p8g
H-E-R-O 05 -- http://novafile.com/2wqejwlay5ka
H-E-R-O 06 -- http://novafile.com/u0bwvltcjifo
H-E-R-O 07 -- http://novafile.com/mi77kowb3wxm
H-E-R-O 08 -- http://novafile.com/sinikxzwa5go
H-E-R-O 09 -- http://novafile.com/jmlwdd9crsvz
H-E-R-O 10 -- http://novafile.com/d4wlm9s8iugz
H-E-R-O 11 -- http://novafile.com/cf5apc2xswng
H-E-R-O 12 -- http://novafile.com/twrecxtjavxb
H-E-R-O 13 -- http://novafile.com/tcsy7ohluhsg
H-E-R-O 14 -- http://novafile.com/tvl31fp23qsz
H-E-R-O 15 -- http://novafile.com/y4smbtb3uwax
H-E-R-O 16 -- http://novafile.com/s48a52p8glqs
H-E-R-O 17 -- http://novafile.com/r0ohfpqnex4g
H-E-R-O 18 -- http://novafile.com/9nc6rtpff1ue
H-E-R-O 19 -- http://novafile.com/qnirttuaqje6
H-E-R-O 20 -- http://novafile.com/m5qxcc126ppy
H-E-R-O 21 -- http://novafile.com/bbgtk58yqeni
H-E-R-O 22 -- http://novafile.com/azc8st2brand

Volume 2:

Dial H 00 (2012) -- http://novafile.com/iq6vlr3em1an
Dial H 01 (2012) -- http://novafile.com/5o5h2iwaqk9z
Dial H 02 (2012) -- http://novafile.com/2ut55p4owsr0
Dial H 03 (2012) -- http://novafile.com/d3ljaqkufzfp
Dial H 04 (2012) -- http://novafile.com/ch7qc24epfnk
Dial H 05 (2012) -- http://novafile.com/ikqh0mon60fd
Dial H 06 (2012) -- http://novafile.com/wgjg9674p1ba
Dial H 07 (2013) -- http://novafile.com/b83dnny0snj9
Dial H 08 (2013) -- http://novafile.com/mpk2wmwwrjh7
Dial H 09 (2013) -- http://novafile.com/y9w2qm7wxgfh
Dial H 10 (2013) -- http://novafile.com/uduqnx1pvgyg
Dial H 11 (2013) -- http://novafile.com/z1radx6w9j22

 

Nice release jay! 100 max WRZ$ reward + 3 for mirrors. Category: Comics.

Added new Issues, a sequel: Dial H by David Lapham and China Miéville
Requirements: CBR Reader, 194 MB. Ongoing.
Overview: One of the first users of the H Dial learns a horrible secret that spells certain doom for the future!!

What would happen if you discovered the H Dial, an unbelievably powerful artifact that turned you into a super hero?
And what if you found out that the world is threatened by this very device that's become your uncontrollable obsession?
These are just the first questions asked in this thrilling and inventive storyline that introduces the strangest super heroes and super villains in the DCU while exploring the boundaries of reality!


A brand new series by bestselling and Hugo award winning novelist CHINA MIEVILLE!

Dial H

China Miéville writer
Alberto Ponticelli penciler
Daniel Green inker
Steve Wands letterer
David Lapham, Mateus Santolouco artist
Brian Bolland, Jeromy Cox, Richard Friend cover
Richard Horie, Tanya Horie colorist
Gregory Lockard, Karen Berger, Joe Hughes editor
Published by DC Comics, 2012-2013.


Dial H #0 Reviewed by StarKiller809 on Sept. 5, 2012.

THE GOOD:
This issue had a lot to like, however, the art wasn't one of them, more on that later. The story is fantastic. China Mieville does a great job at crafting the zero issue to where it doesn't effect the current run, but gives explanations that will be helpful for the current run. Seeing Laodice in an ancient time was interesting and seeing the dial back them was also very well crafted. Seeing Laodice figure out the dial and repel the invasion and then become a queen type was cool to see the transition. Seeing Bumper Carla come back near the end, really made me puzzled until the answers started to pour out and this is where this issue increases the current series by 1,000. This was a great story.

THE BAD:
The art in this issue wasn't great, at all. There are some decent panels and not being mean, I just didn't like the style. The artist doesn't add many details and the details that he does add ends up making the image appear chunky. The lack of detail also effects how often we see the faces, and we don't often because they find creative ways to hide them and that's good because they don't look to appealing.

THE VERDICT: 4/5 (Great)
The art stopped this from being a perfect 5. Art doesn't bug me as much as other people and I really try to focus on the story and this issue is just like other issues. China Mieville can make an interesting character, and interesting plot and add a whole bunch of weirdness and it ends up being a pure enjoyable read. This issue is highly recommend and was my favorite out of the first week of 0 issues. Highly recommended.

Added new Issue:


Dial H #1 - What's the 411?

A brand new series by bestselling and Hugo award winning novelist CHINA MIEVILLE!

What would happen if you discovered the H Dial, an unbelievably powerful artifact that turned you into a super hero?
And what if you found out that the world is threatened by this very device that's become your uncontrollable obsession?
These are just the first questions asked in this thrilling and inventive storyline that introduces the strangest super heroes and super villains in the DCU while exploring the boundaries of reality!

A 2-Page spread Before Watchmen ad in the middle of my comics Reviewed by Adnan on May 2, 2012.


This title has style. Miéville has a distinct enough voice to make the narrative memorable, though at times it seemed just a little stilted - no doubt due to being new to comic book writing, and I have no doubt that this will change over time. We follow Nelson, a semi-typical 'wasting his life' down-on-his-luck guy, stuff happens, and then he comes across a telephone box. Enter our first Dial-a-Hero, who I won't talk about in much detail, but I will say that it's from here were things start getting trippy (in a very good way). If all heroes are going to be as creative in design as what we see in this issue, we're in for some fun stories. Despite essentially being a cape comic, the heroes we're going to get seem...a little more frightening than inspiring.

And I haven't even mentioned the art yet. DC, give this guy more work, he's awesome. It's pretty stylized (not to the same extent as, say, Tolibao in Green Arrow or Ponticelli in Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE) but it's perfect for this kind of story. The action sequence we get about 7-8 pages in onwards steals the show. Some great panel layouts and all very easy to follow. Props to the colourists too, everything looked sufficiently dark and grungy when needed. The faces look a little odd at times, and everyone seems to have big foreheads (think Code Lyoko...well, the foreheads aren't THAT big, but it's not too far off) but it's a minor complaint.

Overall, a great issue #1. Way more questions raised than there are answers, which is to be expected of an #1 provided there is a good enough hook - I'm intrigued enough by what I've seen to continue reading whatever Miéville & Santolouco have planned. It's not for everyone, but I'm not going to lower the rating because of that - you can tell it's not for everyone simply by looking at the cover.

Story: 4/5
Art: 4.5/5
Cover: 4.5/5

Added new issues:

Dial H #2 - Connection Lost

Part two of the five-part opening story!

As our hero learns to use the H DIAL, he begins to suspect there is something sinister at work.


Getting Good. Reviewed by StarKiller809 on June 10, 2012.

THE GOOD:

Mateus Santolouco is an amazing artist. I really like how sketchy it is and there is tons of details in the pages. I also really like the character designs for all the characters. They all look cool and it makes you want to read it just to see them. The colorist in this issue also do an amazing job. It's something that I noticed in this issue and it was really good. The story is spectacular. I really like seeing the different heroes in this issue. It's the same guy but everything feels so new and different because of the different powers. I also really like the mystery that is going on with the bad guys, and maybe a new ally. I think that there is some huge things coming to this series and I hope every checks it out.

THE BAD:

There are some parts that I got a little confused. It's not bad and it's still incredibly enjoyable.

THE VERDICT: 4.5/5 (Amazing)

After a good first issues, this issue raises the bar and is already exploring what is going on in this small city. The writer has a great idea and with the art, this series is bound to be amazing. If you told by the Dial H concept could be this good and dark a few months ago, I would've laughed in you face but this series has managed to bring the best of both worlds into an enjoyable experience. I highly recommend this series, but I don't want to see is cancelled anytime soon, and it's really good.

Added updates: Dial H #03 to #08

Added updates: Dial H #09




DIAL M for MINOTAURA! Friend or foe? Rescuer or captor?
Nelson and Roxy continue to uncover secrets of the H-dial in Canada while evading the appendages of the Centipede.
And introducing THE GLIMPSE, a fleeting yet deceptively powerful new hero.


Dial H #9 Reviewed by StarKiller809 on Feb. 6, 2013.

The Good:

Alberto Ponticelli pencils have been changing the tone of this series and the sketchiness and the darkness it provides to the issue is fantastic. The story is using humor more then it did in the first arc and having the visual being so series really balances the series. Ponticelli can draw weird very well, and that is a skill that comes in handy when you have to draw a new character that is incredibly strange every few pages. The story dropped a little in quality, but still maintains the fun and the deep plot that has been in this series since day one. We get to see a confrontation between Nelson Jent and The Centipede and it provides the action for this issue. Chine Mieville does a great job at introducing this character and making his motive very mysterious makes the character the wild card in this whole plot. This issue also explains a little bit more into why the dial that Jent and Roxie were searching for in the ocean disappeared. The dialog is fun and we get some answers in this issue as well as some more questions.


The Bad:

I feel like this arc might be a little drastic shift from what we got last arc. Last time it was more about people tracking him down but now we have a secret agency and governments involved and it's slightly confusing. Ponticelli is a great artist, but the series was better fitted from the original artist. This issue also starts to make you wonder what this series will be in a few more issues and the future is slightly dimming.


The Verdict: 3.5/5 (Good)

While this issue has let me down a bit, there is no denying that every month I have fun reading this series. I'm not quite sure of the sells, but I would hope that more people would try this so we can continue to see what Mieville has in store for these characters. If you like comics books, but want something that is a little different but still tons of fun, there isn't a better series for you out there. The characters are interesting and this is a book that could really become anything the author wants it to. This issue was okay, but I wouldn't recommend that you start here. Instead, pick up the trade of the fantastic 0-6 issues and then start from there. You won't regret it.

Added updates:

Dial H #10
Dial H #11